MONTREAL — Nikki Yanofsky had no idea what she would wear to her jazz fest concert at the Metropolis Friday night. Perhaps a jumpsuit, she offered. She had seen a denim version by Wildfox that was retro and fun.

Yanofsky might just improvise, something that she can certainly do in fashion just as well as in jazz.

The jazz singer phenom who hit the stage as a cute pre-teen with an uncanny ability to channel Ella Fitzgerald is now a lovely 20-year-old with glowing skin, flowing hair and the fashion gene.

She works with Montreal stylist Cary Tauben and often calls upon DSquared2, the Milan label designed by Toronto twins Dean and Dan Caten, for special occasions, but Yanofsky shows every sign of knowing fashion and developing a personal style after eight years on stage.

“I’m like a real girl. I love clothes and hair and makeup and stuff like that,” she said, dressed for a Gazette shoot in Genetic Denim shorts, canvas espadrilles by Manebi and a cream crochet-trim blouse by Iro raided from her mother’s closet. She wore a mix of high and low: a Zara bracelet and David Yurman ring.

Her closet, she admits, often looks like a tornado hit.

Of course, her onstage wardrobe has come a long way since an early publicity still on a swing in denim overalls.

She sang the national anthem at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics dressed in a belted red dress by DSquared2. She has appeared on stage in rocking jeans, frilly frocks, and in a sophisticated green satin Dolce & Gabbana cocktail dress.

Fashion and jazz are kindred spirits in many ways, she agrees.

“It’s all about creativity and freedom of expression, which is really what jazz is, too,” Yanofsky said, speaking a mile a minute. “It’s just being free, improvising and doing what you feel in that moment.

“And that’s how I am with my clothes, too.”

She calls her personal style classic, and tends to like ’60s retro looks.

“Even now on stage I try to have something retro or ’60s because my music reflects that and I’m partial to that type of clothing.”

Little Secret, her new album, is rooted in jazz and pop. “This is the first album that I’ve come into my own in a way and found my own sound,” Yanofsky said.

“The title track is called Little Secret. That song is all about embracing your own uniqueness. That’s what makes you you. Your secret is that secret ingredient that makes the recipe just right.

“My secret is always just being true to yourself.”

In the video for Something New, from Little Secrets, Yanofsky belts it out in costumes worthy of her fashion icons, Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot. She wears skinny red pants and top, with striking, matching red lips, a headband with a romper-like suit and a pre-flower girl look of peg-leg pants and floral appliqué top.

“Audrey really serves the classic side of what I like and Brigitte is a little bit more boho, a little bit not rocker, but pre-rocker, but she had a bit of an edge.”

Being in the public eye was not an issue growing up, she says.

“I feel like I had a very normal childhood and upbringing in that way,” she said. “Normal for me.

“It was never overwhelming. It was always very organic and natural.”

She sees the fashion antics of Lady Gaga or Rihanna as adding to the entertainment value of a show.

“As I become older and become more of a quote unquote brand, I see myself going to a more all-package deal when I am performing,” Yanofsky said.

“Obviously, the voice is always the main focus, but I think it’s nice to have elements of fashion in there to add to the visuals.”

She admires Janelle Monae. “She always wears a suit and I think she’s making such a statement.

“You know, she’s not oversexualized. That in itself is a really cool fashion statement.”

Other musical fashion heroines include Beyoncé — “She always has the coolest getups on stage. She’s always very glitz, very glam” — and Michael Jackson.

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